Chapter 347

By the next morning, Nolan was still at the hotel,his eyes hollow from a night without sleep.

Erick rushed in, breathless, a tablet clutched in his hands. "Boss, you need to see this!"

Nolan took it, and one glance froze the blood in his veins.

Splashed across the screen was the top trending headline.

"Stewart Group CEO's Engagement to Childhood Sweetheart."

Beneath the title was a photo from yesterday.

Elora, dressed in white, leaned sweetly on his arm,smiling.

And him-expression unreadable, caught in the worst possible frame.

The comments below were even worse. They were filled with congratulations. Everyone assumed Elora was the fiancée.

Each word was a knife.

Nolan's jaw tightened. He had never once said who his fiancée was, and now the entire city believed it was Elora.

If Eleanor saw this... The thought made his chest cave in. Snatching up his phone, he dialed her number.

But all he got was a cold, automated message.

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable..."

He tried again. And again.

Dozens of times, the same cold recording echoed back.

His face turned ashen, his hands trembling.

There was no more room for thought-only urgency.He stormed out, determined to find Eleanor.

He had to tell her the truth.

She was the only fiancée he had ever meant to have.

At that very moment, Eleanor was at Elepdon Hospital. Her phone,muted and forgotten, lay deep in her bag She stood at her parents' bedsides, her brows knit in worry.

Hilda forced a smile, waving her hand as if shooing away concern. "Baby, it was nothing more than a fender-bender. Look at me-I'm fine. Just a few scratches. Weren't you flying out to Vladena today?Go on, don't let us hold you back."

Jeff thumped his chest beside her. "Exactly. I'm still in fighting form!"

Eleanor didn't answer right away. She picked up the medical report and studied it word for word,her gaze sharp.

Just as Denny had said-minor collision. No fractures,no major injuries. The other drivers had walked away fine,too.

Relief softened her face at last. She exhaled and straightened. "Alright, Dad, Mom. I'll head out, but I'll check on you as soon as I'm done."

She leaned down,hugged her mother tight, gave them both a few more instructions, then turned and left.

Not once did she touch her phone.

Sliding into the car, she spoke calmly to the driver. "To the airport."

A few hours later, the plane lifted into the sky.

When it landed, Eleanor went straight to the fashion show venue, not stopping even for a breath.

And all the while, her phone-silent, buried in her bag -continued to fill with Nolan's desperate,unanswered calls.